3 73.  746 
ft  SSk 


A STATEMENT  OF  ITS  HOPES 
A RECORD  OF  ITS  ACHIEVEMENTS 


“A  thousand  hands  have  labored  long 
Mighty  visions  to  fulfill. 

To  shape  a dream,  to  stablish  strong 
This  our  city  on  The  Hill; 

In  those  fair  visions  we  believe, 

What  years  have  builded  we  receive, 
And  ours  shall  be  the  charge  to  leave 
Our  high  honor  higher  still.” 

TF.  R.  Bowie,  igoo . 


JOHN  MEIGS 


THE  HILL  SCHOOL 


J- 

A Statement  of  Its  Hopes 
A Record  of  Its 
Achievements 


A pamphlet  prepared  by  the  Foundation  Com- 
mittee of  the  Alumni  Association  on  the 
occasion  of  the  change  of  status  of  The  Hill 
from  a privately  owned  to  an  endowed  School. 


POTTSTOWN,  PENNSYLVANIA 

1920 


TRUSTEES  OF  THE  HILL  SCHOOL 


Honorable  Joseph  Buffington 

Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

John  Lewis  Cochran  .... 

Chicago,  111. 

William  S.  Clawson 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dk.  William  Darrach  .... 

. New  York  City 

General  T.  Coleman  du  Pont 

. Wilmington,  Del. 

Dr.  Charles  J.  Hatfield 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

President  John  Grier  Hibben  . 

Princeton,  N.  J. 

Honorable  Robert  S.  Lovett 

. New  York  City 

Dwight  R.  Meigs,  Secretary  .... 

Pottstown,  Pa. 

Honorable  John  George  Milburn 

. New  York  City 

Professor  George  H.  Nettleton 

New  Haven,  Conn. 

President  Charles  A.  Richmond  . 

Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

Principal  Alfred  E.  Stearns 

Andover,  Mass. 

C.  Chauncey  Stillman  .... 

. Newr  York  City 

Clarence  A.  Warden,  President  . 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

[ PAGE  FOUR  ] 


THE  HILL 

AN  ENDOWED  SCHOOL 

FTER  sixty-nine  years  of  private  ownership,  The  Hill 
School  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  its  Alumni.  A charter 
has  been  granted  vesting  ownership  and  control  of  the 
School  in  a Board  of  Trustees.  The  School  has  thus 
become  an  endowed  institution,  not  a corporation  for  profit. 

In  order  adequately  to  meet  its  new  responsibilities  as  a servant  of 
the  public  in  the  field  of  secondary  education,  the  School  needs  a Foun- 
dation Fund  of  not  less  than  31,000,000. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  book  to  justify  the  claim  of  the  School  to  public 
interest  and  support  by  giving  an  account  of  the  corporate  change  that 
has  been  effected;  by  indicating  the  advantages  thereby  secured  and  the 
responsibilities  thereby  assumed  by  Alumni  and  friends;  and  by  briefly 
setting  forth  the  history  and  achievements  of  The  Hill. 


[ PAGE  FIVE  ] 


VIEW  FROM  WEST  DRIVE 


The  Hill  School  Alumni  Association 

FOUNDATION  COMMITTEE 


CLARENCE  A.  WARDEN,  Chairman 
M.  H.  BOWMAN,  JR.,  Executive  Chairman 
H.  H.  VREELAND,  JR.,  Executive  Secretary 
WILLIAM  S.  CLAWSON,  Treasurer 


650  Real  Estate  Trust  Bldg. 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

Telephone  Walnut  1922 


November  5,  1920. 


To  The  Hill  School  Alumni: 

Believing  that  every  Hill  School  Alumnus  is  interested  in  the  transfer 
of  The  Hill  School  to  Alumni  control,  and  in  the  plans  for  the  future  of 
the  School,  we  are  enclosing  a copy  of  a pamphlet  prepared  by  the  Founda- 
tion Committee  of  the  Alumni  Association.  It  is  proposed  shortly  to  make 
an  appeal  for  contributions  to  what  will  be  known  as  the  Foundation 
Fund,  which  will  be  the  nucleus  of  a permanent  endowment  and  will  enable 
the  putting  into  effect  of  many  of  the  desired  policies. 

The  efforts  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  the  Foundation  Committee 
to  complete  the  Foundation  Fund  will  be  of  no  avail  without  the  hearty 
co-operation  of  all  Alumni,  who  we  feel  will  cheerfully  meet  the  demands 
for  assistance  which  will  be  made  upon  them. 

Cordially  yours, 

CLARENCE  A.  WARDEN, 

President , The  Hill  School  Alumni  Association. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/hillschoolstatemOOhill 


P A R T I 


A FUNDAMENTAL  CHANGE 


The  Proposal  for  Alumni  Control 

INCE  its  founding  by  the  Rev.  Matthew  Meigs,  in  1851, 
The  Hill  School  has  been  privately  owned  and  privately 
administered.  John  Meigs,  however,  who  came  to  The 
Hill  in  1876,  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  the  School 
should  become  an  endowed  institution.  He  recognized  the 
fact  that  permanence  and  stability  could  only  thus  be  secured.  Among 
the  Alumni  the  same  feeling  was  gradually  developing.  Proud  of  the 
School  and  of  its  long  and  honorable  history,  they  were  jealous  for  its 
future.  They  wished  to  insure  for  all  time  its  opportunity  for  nation- 
wide service.  They  felt  that  the  School  should  have  those  opportunities 
to  develop  which  only  Alumni  support  could  give. 

It  was  under  the  impulse  of  this  feeling  that  the  Alumni  Executive 
Committee  first  investigated  the  possibility  of  transferring  the  owner- 
ship and  control  of  The  Hill  School  from  a profit-making  corporation  to 
a corporation  not  for  profit  controlled  by  the  Alumni  body. 

They  found  upon  inquiry  that  the  present  Head  Master  shared  his 
father’s  earlier  belief  that  a large  preparatory  school  like  The  Hill  was  too 
important  a trust  to  be  administered  by  a proprietary  head.  The  Alumni 
Executive  Committee  therefore  submitted  the  question  to  the  general 
Alumni  meeting  held  last  May,  and  a motion  to  take  the  necessary  steps 
for  effecting  the  transfer  of  the  School  was  unanimously  passed. 


oAttitude  of  the  Former  Owners  Towards 
The  Transfer 

N considering  the  proposal  of  the  Alumni  for  the  transfer  of 
the  School  to  a new  corporation  not  run  for  profit,  the 
former  owners  realized  the  definite  advantages  to  be  gained, 
and  were  willing  to  make  the  financial  sacrifice  necessary 
to  secure  them.  They  wanted  above  all  else  to  insure  per- 
petuity to  the  School  which  three  generations  of  their  family  had  served. 

In  September,  1920,  the  School  property  was  officially  appraised  for 
purposes  of  insurance  at  over  31,520,000.  The  real  estate  was  conserv- 
atively valued  at  3180,000.  The  total  assets  of  the  School  were  thus  in 
excess  of  31,700,000,  exclusive  of  name  and  good  will.  Stock,  common 
and  preferred,  in  the  old  corporation  was  outstanding  to  the  amount  of 
3550,000.  The  bonded  and  other  indebtedness  was  about  3650,000. 
There  was  thus  an  equity  in  the  property  of  over  3500,000. 

In  taking  over  the  School,  the  Board  of  Trustees,  acting  in  accordance 
with  the  authorization  of  the  Alumni  Association,  issued  3550,000  of 
bonds  to  the  former  owners  in  lieu  of  stock.  These  bonds  are  subject  to 
all  existing  liens.  No  cash  consideration  was  involved. 

The  stockholders,  in  turn,  donated  their  entire  equity  of  over  3500,000 
to  the  new  corporation;  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  Meigs  family  turned 
back  to  the  original  donors  the  School  chapel,  which  was,  in  1904,  pre- 
sented personally  to  “Professor”  and  “Mrs.  John”  by  the  Alumni. 
These  two  gifts  constitute  one  of  the  largest  and  most  generous  contri- 
butions ever  made  to  secondary  education.  The  name  and  good  will  of 
the  School,  of  course,  go  with  the  gift,  and  are  a part  of  it. 

Thus  one-third  the  valuation  of  the  School  property,  acquired  through 
sixty-nine  years  of  labor  and  self-sacrifice,  is  entrusted  to  the  keeping  of 
those  who  should  best  know  the  value  of  such  a gift — the  sons  to  whom 
The  Hill  has  always  been  a beneficent,  if  sometimes  a stern,  mother. 


PAGE  EIGHT 


Reasons  for  the  Change 

INCE  the  School  has  been  so  successful  and  so  useful  under 
private  ownership,  why  should  any  change  be  effected? 
The  following  are  some  of  the  reasons: 

(1)  The  ultimate  future  of  an  institution  that  is  de- 
pendent on  the  length  of  life  of  an  individual  cannot  be 
assured.  Only  a duly  constituted  board  of  trustees  elected  under  con- 
ditions securing  permanency  can  guarantee  perpetuity. 

(2)  Private  ownership  and  family  control  of  a great  school  is,  in  these 
days  of  endowed  institutions  of  learning,  an  anomaly.  Prior  to  the 
transfer,  The  Hill  remained,  with  one  exception,  the  only  large  school 
carried  on  by  private  management  for  private  profit. 

(3)  The  maximum  of  enthusiastic  alumni  devotion  is  essential  to  the 
life  and  growth  of  any  school  or  college.  Hill  boys  have  been  loyal  to  the 
School  in  the  past,  but  their  loyalty  will  increase  now  that  the  School  is 
actually  their  own. 

(4)  Bequests  and  donations  are  not  made  to  private  institutions  run 
for  profit.  The  Alumni  and  the  owners  of  The  Hill  both  realized  that 
they  could  not  longer  afford  to  let  The  Hill  remain  at  a disadvantage  in 
this  respect,  when  other  preparatory  schools  are  yearly  in  receipt  of  large 
benefactions. 

(5)  The  privately  owned  school  must  necessarily  charge  a consider- 
ably higher  tuition  fee  than  the  endowed  school  if  it  is  to  have  equivalent 
resources  with  which  to  carry  on  educational  work  of  like  standard  of 
merit  and  at  the  same  time  provide  a reserve  for  future  requirements. 
Every  school  has  its  net  earned  revenue.  The  endowed  school  has  this 
revenue  plus  its  income  from  endowment  or  bequests.  The  privately 
owned  school  has  this  revenue  minus  the  return  necessarily  paid  to  the 
owners. 

(6)  There  is  needed  an  endowment  fund,  which  only  a non-profit- 
making  corporation  is  in  a position  to  solicit  from  its  alumni  and  friends. 


[ PAGE  NINE ] 


THE  WEST  WING — DECORATED  FOR  THE  HOTCHKISS  GAME 


^PART  II  ^ 


THE  FUTURE 


IRMLY  to  establish  the  School  on  its  new  basis  and  furnish 
adequate  working  capital,  a Foundation  Fund  of  not  less 
than  $1,000,000  is  needed.  Of  this  sum  $300,000  has 
already  been  promised.  The  Alumni  Association  and  the 
Board  of  Trustees  confidently  appeal  to  the  Alumni  and 
friends  of  the  School  for  the  completion  of  the  fund. 

Part  of  the  amount  raised  is  to  be  invested  as  the  nucleus  of  a per- 
manent endowment,  including  the  establishment  of  scholarships,  and  the 
remainder  devoted  to  the  completion  of  Memorial  Hall,  to  working 
capital,  and  to  such  physical  improvements  as  may  later  be  necessary. 


THE  NEED  FOR  A FOUNDATION  FUND 
Reduction  of  Tuition  Charge 

The  present  increase  in  the  cost  of  living,  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
the  entire  income  of  The  Hill  is  derived  from  tuition  charges,  has  necessitated 
of  late  a considerable  increase  in  tuition.  The  present  charge  of  fourteen 
hundred  dollars  prevents  many  parents  desiring  to  send  their  sons  to  a 
preparatory  school  from  considering  The  Hill,  and  results  in  the  School’s 
drawing  its  boys  from  a comparatively  restricted  clientele.  It  is  desirable 
to  broaden  this  clientele  by  reducing  tuition.  This  can  be  done  only  by 
means  of  the  returns  from  a liberal  endowment. 


[ PAGE  ELEVEN  ] 


Scholarships 

While  the  spirit  of  The  Hill  has  always  been  democratic,  the  student 
body,  unquestionably,  needs  the  leavening  presence  of  a larger  number  of 
boys  of  limited  means  who  possess  ability,  earnestness  of  purpose,  and 
stalwart  character. 

The  Hill  has  at  present  only  nine  boys  holding  competitive  scholar- 
ships which  include  full  tuition,  while  eleven  others  receive  a certain 
tuition  rebate  on  what  are  generally  termed  confidential  scholarships. 
On  the  other  hand,  Hotchkiss,  a typical  endowed  school,  has  at  present 
forty  full  and  ten  partial  competitive  scholarships;  Exeter  has  eighty. 

It  is  the  plan  of  the  Trustees  to  devote  a considerable  portion  of  the 
Foundation  Fund  to  the  establishment  of  scholarships.  Specific  gifts  for 
the  founding  of  memorial  or  other  special  scholarships  would  be  a natural 
consequence. 


PAGE  TWELVE 


Masters’  Salaries  and  Retiring  Allowances 

O single  influence  can  do  more  to  make  or  mar  a school  than 
the  character  of  its  masters.  The  present  high  regard  in 
which  the  School  is  held  is  largely  the  result  of  the  labor  of 
the  men  who  comprise  its  teaching  staff.  In  few  other 
educational  institutions  do  the  faculty  give  so  much  of 
themselves  to  the  students  as  do  The  Hill  masters.  These  men  must  be 
adequately  paid,  and  for  increase  in  salaries  commensurate  with  recent 
advances  elsewhere,  income  from  an  endowment  fund  is  needed. 

Young  men  must  be  yearly  attracted  to  the  profession  of  teaching  it 
the  supply  of  able  masters  is  to  keep  pace  with  the  need.  They  will 
enter  the  profession  only  as  they  are  given  an  adequate  return  for  the 
service  rendered. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  as  soon  as  the  Foundation 
Fund  assumes  sufficient  proportions,  to  grant  to  all  members  of  the 
faculty  after  a stated  period  of  service  and  in  order  of  seniority,  a leave  of 
absence  with  pay,  for  the  purpose  of  refreshment  through  study  and 
travel,  thus  enhancing  their  value  to  the  School;  also  to  provide  retiring 
allowances  for  those  masters  who  have  grown  old  in  the  service  of  The 
Hill.  Here  again  additional  income  is  needed;  endowment  only  can 
supply  the  need. 


PAGE  THIRTEEN 


ALUMNI  CHAPEL — FROM  THE  WEST  LAWN 


Needs  for  Physical  Equipment 

Immediate 

EMORIAL  HALL,  planned  as  a lasting  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  thirty-nine  Hill  boys  who  sacrificed  their 
lives  in  the  World  War,  was  begun  in  1919  as  a gift  of  the 
Alumni  and  friends  of  the  School.  This  building  must  be 
completed  immediately,  for  reasons  of  necessity  as  well  as 
sentiment.  The  Auditorium  and  the  Library  which  Memorial  Hall  will 
provide  are  essential  to  the  best  life  and  work  at  The  Hill.  There  is  no 
auditorium  now  except  the  makeshift  Common  Room.  The  present 
library  space  is  insufficient. 

The  Trustees  have  determined  to  press  forward  with  the  construction 
of  Memorial  Hall  as  fast  as  contributions  to  the  Foundation  Fund  will 
permit. 

Future 

A new  dormitory  for  the  Lower  School  to  replace  the  “Cottage”  is  of 
great  importance. 

There  should  be  constructed  on  the  School  grounds  masters’  houses 
in  numbers  sufficient  to  care  for  the  married  masters  now  living  in  town. 
The  bringing  of  all  the  teaching  staff  together  on  The  Hill  could  hardly 
do  other  than  to  make  for  School  solidarity.  Some  of  the  masters  now 
live  so  far  from  the  School  campus  that  they  are  not  readily  accessible 
to  the  boys  at  all  times. 

The  present  Schoolroom,  Common  Room,  and  Gymnasium  are  all 
inadequate  for  the  purposes  which  they  serve,  and  should  eventually  be 
replaced  by  more  commodious  and  dignified  buildings. 


[ PACE  FIFTEEN  ] 


THE  FUTURE  POLICY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 


CCORDING  to  the  terms  of  the  new  charter,  the  Trustees, 
fifteen  in  number,  are  elected  in  groups  of  five  for  terms  of 
three  years.  Three  are  elected  annually  by  the  Alumni, 
and  two  by  the  Board.  This  method  of  election  will  secure 
the  service  as  Trustees  of  experienced  educators  not  neces- 
sarily Hill  graduates,  men  whose  trusteeship  will  tend  to  broaden  the 
policy  of  the  School. 

Under  the  new  management  there  will  be  few  changes.  The  general 
policy  of  the  School  as  to  standards  of  conduct,  scholarship,  discipline, 
and  extra-curriculum  activities  will  be  continued,  with  an  extension  of 
the  present  system  of  student  self-government.  There  is  no  intention  of 
permitting  the  number  of  boys  to  increase  beyond  the  present  enrollment. 

Under  the  former  organization  the  School  was  under  the  direct  control 
of  a Head  Master  elected  by  and  responsible  to  the  stockholders;  under 
the  new  organization  the  Head  Master  is  elected  by  and  is  responsible  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees.  On  September  16th  the  Trustees,  at  their  first 
regular  meeting,  elected  Mr.  Dwight  R.  Meigs  as  Head  Master,  and  he 
will  continue  in  the  position  he  has  filled  for  the  past  six  years. 

There  has  been  no  change  in  the  personnel  of  the  administrative 
staff,  nor  in  the  membership  of  the  Senior  Faculty.  “Mrs.  John,”  “Miss 
Elizabeth,”  and  other  members  of  the  family  remain  at  the  School. 

The  Hill  School  is  what  it  is  by  virtue  of  what  it  has  been.  It  was 
organized  on  a firm  foundation,  and  it  has  been  steadily  building  and 
improving  on  its  past.  Its  policies  have  been  fixed  from  the  first.  “It 
is  neither  the  fad  of  any  social  set,  nor  the  pet  of  any  religious  denomi- 
nation.” Family,  faculty,  students,  and  alumni  have  aided  in  shaping 
and  in  conforming  to  that  policy  of  thoroughness  which  characterized  the 
management  of  John  Meigs.  That  policy  is  adhered  to  today;  it  will  be 
the  fundamental  basis  of  the  policy  of  the  future. 


f PAGE  SIXTEEN 


•»f  PART  III«- 


A RECORD  OF  HILL  SCHOOL 
ACHIEVEMENT 


OTHING  can  justify  public  support  of  a school  except  its 
record.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  to  the  Alumni,  “The 
Hill  School  is  now  yours;  give  it  your  support.”  They 
may  well  reply,  “Does  the  record  of  the  School  justify  our 
interest  in  it?  Is  it  an  enterprise  in  which  the  public  may 
invest  with  reasonable  certainty  that  there  will  be  returned  adequate  divi- 
dends in  service  to  the  public?  Does  it  take  average  boys  and  train  them 
to  be  more  useful  to  the  nation  than  they  would  otherwise  be?  What  has 
the  School  done?  What  is  it  doing?  What  are  its  potentialities  for  the 
future?” 

These  are  legitimate  questions,  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  following 
record  to  answer. 


FOUNDATION  AND  GROWTH 

The  Hill  School,  with  its  student  body  of  nearly  four  hundred  boys, 
its  faculty  of  fifty  masters,  and  its  property  conservatively  valued  at  over 
#1,700,000,  did  not  spring  full-grown  into  being.  From  the  modest  begin- 
ning made  in  1851  by  the  Rev.  Matthew  Meigs,  the  School  has  developed 
year  by  year. 

When  John  Meigs,  known  affectionately  as  “Professor,”  came  to  The 
Hill  in  1876,  the  School  was  small,  and  its  plant  inadequate.  There  were 
a dozen  students  and  two  assistant  masters.  Six  years  later  he  married, 
and  with  the  advent  of  “Mrs.  John”  there  entered  into  the  life  of  the 
School  that  influence  which  was  to  do  so  much  in  molding  the  spirit  and 
shaping  the  purposes  of  The  Hill. 


PAGE  SEVENTEE  N 


AIRPLANE  VIEW  OF  THE  HILL 


Within  seven  years  after  John  Meigs  took  over  the  School,  the  students 
numbered  forty-five,  the  faculty  four;  within  nine  years  there  were  sixty- 
five  students;  within  eleven  years,  ninety;  within  twenty  years,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  boys  and  thirteen  masters.  Parents  all  over  the  country 
were  beginning  to  recognize  The  Hill  as  one  of  the  leading  preparatory 
schools. 

Buildings  and  equipment  kept  pace  with  enrollment.  Twice  destroyed 
by  fire  before  1891,  the  School  was  each  time  rebuilt.  Adjacent  property 
was  gradually  acquired,  until  there  are  now  one  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
providing  numerous  playing  fields,  twenty-five  tennis  courts,  and  a golf 
course.  The  original  School  building,  a pre-Revolutionary  stone  mansion, 
still  stands,  but  it  is  now  only  a small  unit  in  the  School  plant,  with  its 
modern  dormitories,  classrooms,  gymnasium,  and  swimming  pools.  In 
1904  the  Alumni  Chapel  was  dedicated.  In  1910  the  Upper  School, 
housing  one  hundred  and  seventy-two  boys,  was  erected.  In  1914  the 
Dining  Hall  was  built. 

John  Meigs  died  in  1911.  From  1911  to  1914  Alfred  G.  Rolfe  was 
Head  Master.  Since  1914  the  great  work  which  John  Meigs  so  firmly 
established  has  been  carried  on  under  the  able  administration  of  his  son, 
Dwight  R.  Meigs,  the  present  Head  Master. 


[ PAGE  NINETEEN ] 


AIMS  AND  PURPOSES  OF  THE  SCHOOL 


N training  boys  for  college  and  for  life,  The  Hill  School  has 
always  given  paramount  attention  to  physical  develop- 
ment, scholarship  and  character. 


Physical  Development 

To  insure  the  bodily  vigor  so  necessary  to  success  in  life,  the  School 
has  an  excellent  equipment  and  organization.  Few  schools  have  playing 
fields  so  numerous  or  so  fine;  few  have  an  athletic  system  as  sane,  as 
complete,  as  far-reaching  in  its  wholesome  results  as  that  which  is  admin- 
istered at  The  Hill  by  Michael  F.  Sweeney,  revered  and  loved  by  gener- 
ations of  Hill  boys. 

The  School  has  its  own  physician,  two  resident  nurses,  and  a well- 
equipped  infirmary  of  fifty  beds,  with  segregated  contagious  wards.  A 
member  of  the  Physical  Department,  through  daily  inspection  of  boys, 
co-operates  with  the  Medical  Director  in  safeguarding  the  health  of  the 
School. 


[page  twenty] 


Scholarship 

STABLE  faculty  is  essential  to  high  standards  of  scholar- 
ship. Eighteen  of  the  masters  at  The  Hill  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  the  School  for  more  than  a decade. 

Hill  masters  are  experienced  teachers.  Their  work  with 
boys  is  intimate  and  painstaking.  The  classes  are  small, 
as  there  is  one  teacher  for  every  eight  boys  in  the  School.  Boys  are  taught 
how  to  study.  A weekly  conditional  system  and  recognition  accorded 
high  scholastic  standing,  and  the  system  of  Form  Groups,  whereby  each 
boy  is  directly  under  the  supervision  of  a master,  tend  to  produce  results 
that  justify  the  enviable  reputation  which  The  Hill  has  long  maintained 
for  sending  to  college  boys  who  are  unusually  well  prepared. 

During  the  Academic  year  ending  June,  1920,  the  general  scholarship 
of  the  School  based  on  the  weekly  grades  reached  the  highest  numerical 
average  ever  attained.  In  scholarship,  The  Hill  is  not  resting  upon  its 
laurels. 


[ PAGE  TWENTY-ONE  ] 


CLASS  DAY— PLANTING  THE  IVY 


Character 


ONTACT  between  masters  and  boys  is  close  and  friendly. 
There  is,  on  the  part  of  the  masters,  careful  supervision  of 
the  younger  boys,  with  every  opportunity  for  counsel  and 
direction.  In  the  upper  forms  supervision  is  somewhat 
relaxed.  In  the  Fifth  Form,  a modified  type  of  self- 
government  prevails,  and  in  the  Sixth  Form  the  honor  system  is  added  to 
a larger  degree  of  self-government,  so  that  boys  may  gradually  be  prepared 
for  the  freedom  of  college  life. 

The  extra-curriculum  activities  of  Hill  boys  are  many  and  varied,  and 
contribute  in  marked  degree  to  the  upbuilding  of  independence  and  self- 
reliance  and  that  executive  ability  which  reacts  so  favorably  on  scholar- 
ship. Editorial  and  business  management  of  School  periodicals;  man- 
agerships of  the  general  athletic  organization  and  of  the  seven  school 
teams;  participation  in  interscholastic  athletics;  membership  in  and 
direction  of  the  debating  clubs,  the  musical  and  the  dramatic  clubs,  and 
the  civic  club;  all  these  enable  many  boys  of  only  average  promise  to 
develop  unusual  ability. 

Appeal  is  made  to  the  boys  to  do  right  for  the  sake  of  the  right.  An 
independent  and  self-reliant  solution  of  moral  problems  is  encouraged. 
More  and  more  it  is  the  policy  of  the  School  to  develop  and  appeal  to  the 
boy’s  ethical  sense;  less  and  less  to  rouse  and  appeal  to  the  purely  emo- 
tional side  of  his  religious  nature.  The  result  is  that  Hill  boys  have  the 
reputation  for  straightforward  character  and  bearing. 

The  purely  religious  exercises  of  the  School  are  simple,  dignified  and 
impressive.  The  Young  Men’s  Christian  Association,  officered  and 
conducted  by  the  boys  themselves,  is  an  important  factor  in  shaping  the 
opinion  of  the  student  body  and  maintaining  School  morale. 

The  influence  of  “Mrs.  John”  in  the  upbuilding  of  character  in  Hill 
boys  is  now  supplemented  by  the  helpful  interest  of  the  wives  of  many  of 
the  married  masters,  no  less  than  twelve  of  whom  are  in  residence  in  or 
near  the  School. 


[page  twenty-three] 


REALIZATION  OF  AIMS  AND  PURPOSES 


HE  primary  aim  of  Hill  School  training  is  the  preparation 
of  boys  for  college;  the  ultimate  purpose  is  the  preparation 
of  boys  for  life.  How  well  or  how  ill  the  School  does  its 
work  may  be  deduced  from  a study  of  the  records  of  Hill 
boys. 

Preparation  for  College 

In  preparing  boys  for  college  The  Hill  School  has  had  an  enviable 
record  for  more  than  forty  years.  It  is  to  be  expected,  of  course,  that 
boys  specially  prepared  for  the  college  examinations  will  make  a better 
showing  than  other  candidates.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
the  high  school  boy  who  takes  the  college  examination  is  the  boy  of 
unusual  attainment.  Less  than  5%  of  all  high  school  graduates  go  to 
college;  and  this  small  percentage  naturally  comprises  the  few  who  are 
both  brilliant  and  ambitious. 

The  Hill  candidate,  however,  is  merely  the  average  boy,  not  distin- 
guished above  his  fellows  by  the  mere  fact  of  going  to  college  (practically 
all  Hill  boys  go  to  college)  nor  by  outstanding  brilliance  of  mind. 

In  the  following  comparative  statement,  therefore,  it  should  be  noted 
that  the  record  of  The  Hill  School  is  set  over  against  the  combined  record 
of  all  other  preparatory  schools  and  of  the  chosen  high  school  candidates. 

Last  year  the  College  Entrance  Examination  Board  published  statis- 
tics showing  that  of  all  examination  books  read  for  the  decade  ending 
1919  only  52.3%  were  rated  60  (passing  grade)  or  above. 

The  Hill  record  for  the  same  ten  years  was  87.6%. 

In  the  best  year  of  the  ten , The  Hill  record  was  95%. 

The  Board’s  statistics  show  that  in  1919  of  all  examination  books 
read  only  2.9%  were  graded  90  or  better. 

The  Hill  record  for  1919  was  over  6%. 

The  Hill  record  for  1920  was  16.1%. 

In  the  Board  examinations  held  last  June,  twenty  Hill  candidates 
received  the  highest  ratings  given  in  specified  subjects. 

[page  twenty-four] 


Hill  Boys  in  College 

Within  a period  of  six  years,  The  Hill  had  three  presidents  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  at  Yale. 

Five  years  ago  the  record  for  scholarship  at  Princeton,  establisheci 
more  than  a hundred  years  ago  by  Aaron  Burr,  was  broken  by  a Hill 
graduate. 

This  year  a former  Hill  boy  won  the  highest  honors  in  scholarship 
at  West  Point. 

Five  years  ago,  at  one  time,  fifteen  Hill  boys  were  chairmen  of  edi- 
torial boards  in  different  colleges. 

Two  years  ago,  at  Yale,  the  chairman  of  every  editorial  board  but  one 
was  a Hill  boy. 

During  the  years  1910-19,  twenty-one  chairmen  and  business  man- 
agers of  Yale  publications,  and  thirty-two  editors,  were  Hill  boys. 

Since  1915,  at  Princeton,  seven  chairmen  of  editorial  boards  and 
twenty-one  editors  have  been  Hill  boys. 

Six  Hill  boys  have  been  class  presidents  at  Princeton  in  the  past 
five  years. 

In  1915  Hill  boys  were  at  the  head  of  the  student  religious  organiza- 
tions at  Yale  College,  The  Sheffield  Scientific  School,  and  at  Princeton. 

Within  the  past  twenty  years  ten  Hill  boys  have  been  captains  of  major 
sport  teams  at  Yale  and  Princeton.  During  the  past  dozen  years  more 
than  seventy-five  Varsity  letters  have  been  awarded  Hill  boys  at  these 
two  universities  alone. 

In  one  year  at  Yale,  when  Freshmen  were  allowed  to  compete  on 
Varsity  teams,  two  Hill  boys,  Bowman  and  Shevlin,  won  their  letters  in 
baseball,  football  and  track  in  their  freshman  year — an  unparalleled 
achievement. 

The  fame  of  Hill  athletes  is  proverbial.  There  hang  on  the  walls  of 
the  School  Common  Room  three  pictures  of  which  every  Hill  boy  is  proud. 
Two  are  groups  of  Hill  boys  at  Yale,  in  each  picture  seven  men  in  foot- 
ball uniform  wearing  the  coveted  “Y,”  the  awards  of  a single  year.  In 
the  picture  of  the  Yale  Freshmen  squad  of  1918  are  ten  Hill  boys. 

TWENTY-FIVE  ] 


PAGE 


COMMENCEMENT  PLAY 
DELL  THEATRE 


Hill  Boys  in  Life  After  College 

O enumerate  without  comment  the  records  of  Hill  gradu- 
ates in  business,  in  the  professions,  and  in  philanthropic 
and  religious  work,  would  exceed  the  limit  of  space  allotted 
to  this  pamphlet.  The  list  of  occupations  engaged  in  by 
old  Hill  boys  is  a long  one,  and  is  suggestive  of  the  versa- 
tility of  the  Alumni  body. 

Of  the  two  thousand  living  Alumni,  approximately  forty  are  min- 
isters or  missionaries;  seventy-five  are  in  educational  work;  thirty  are 
journalists;  fifteen  are  authors;  one  hundred  are  lawyers  or  judges; 
seventy  are  physicians;  forty-five  are  artists  or  architects;  sixty  are 
engineers;  ten  are  in  the  diplomatic  service;  and  others  are  found  in 
almost  every  walk  of  life. 

An  evidence  of  the  valuable  literary  work  Hill  men  are  doing  is  to  be 
found  in  that  section  of  the  Library  set  apart  for  books  written  by  Alumni 
of  the  School,  in  which  are  forty  volumes. 


[page  twenty-sf.ven] 


DURING  THE  WAR — THE  SCHOOL  BATTALION 


Alumni  in  the  World  War 


HE  service  flag  of  the  School,  which  hangs  in  the  Dining 
Hall,  shows  987  blue  and  thirty-nine  gold  stars.  Over  one- 
half  the  alumni  were  in  the  service,  not  including  those 
engaged  in  government,  state  and  diplomatic  work,  a 
record  which  few  educational  institutions  can  equal,  and 
which  none  perhaps  can  excel. 

With  more  than  two  hundred  reports  still  incomplete,  the  files  of  the 
Alumni  Association  show  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  citations  and  ninety- 
six  decorations  given  to  Hill  boys.  Among  these  are: 


The  Legion  of  Honor 5 

The  Croix  de  Guerre 33 

The  American  Distinguished  Service  Cross 13 


[ PAGE  TWENTY-NINE 


RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  THE  FUTURE 


time  has  come  when  the  Alumni  and  friends  of  The 
Hill  can  transmute  into  vivid  reality  the  spirit  of  the  school 
song.  They  are  now  able  as  never  before 

“To  shape  a dream,  to  stablish  strong 
This  our  city  on  The  Hill.” 

The  generosity  of  the  former  owners  in  turning  over  their  equity  in 
the  School  property  to  the  Trustees  is  a direct  challenge  to  Alumni  loyalty 
and  support.  In  giving  thus  liberally  the  former  owners  are  doing  only 
what  they  have  been  doing  in  the  past.  They  have  turned  back  earned 
profits  into  the  School  year  after  year  for  betterment  and  expansion.  Nor 
is  this  all:  they  have  given  themselves.  John  Meigs,  indeed,  laid  his  life 
on  the  altar  of  the  School.  He  died  before  his  time,  his  powerful  and 
rugged  physique  bankrupt  through  its  too  prodigal  expenditure  in  the 
service  of  the  School  and  its  boys. 

Now  the  School  belongs  to  the  Alumni;  it  is  their  own  to  do  with  as 
they  will.  Through  official  action  and  legal  enactment  they  have  taken 
title  to  the  School  property,  assets  and  good  will.  Is  it  not  time,  then, 
for  the  Alumni  to  give  with  a proportionate  prodigality,  with  open  heart 
and  free  hand?  The  Alumni  are  largely  what  they  are  because  of  the 
School.  When  John  Meigs  and  his  family  were  givings  Hill  boys  were 
getting.  Let  Hill  boys  give  now. 

The  many  friends  of  the  School  will  wish  to  assist  the  Alumni  in  this 
enterprise.  Are  there  any  parents  of  former  Hill  boys  who  feel  that  their 
debt  of  gratitude  to  the  School  is  paid?  For  those  sons  who  at  The  Hill 
became  strong,  who  under  her  stern  but  kindly  discipline  became  men, 
can  any  mere  tuition  fee  be  a proper  recompense? 

The  appeal  of  The  Hill  is  not  restricted  to  any  clientele.  It  is  a 
national  school  in  its  scope  and  appeal.  Its  boys  come  from  thirty-six 
states  and  from  half  a dozen  foreign  countries.  Upon  graduation  from 
college,  Hill  boys  scatter  to  every  state  and  many  foreign  countries, 
doing  the  needed  work  of  the  world  in  business  and  the  professions.  In 
time  of  war  they  were  prepared  to  serve;  in  times  of  peace  and  recon- 


[ PAGE  THIRTY  ] 


struction  they  are  busy.  An  analysis  of  the  School  and  of  its  Alumni 
body  reveals  a cross-section  of  the  nation,  with  all  its  multifarious  interests 
represented. 

These  varied  interests  of  the  nation  and  the  new  and  vital  problems 
pressing  for  settlement  need  trained  men.  The  late  war  showed  even  more 
clearly  than  previous  wars  the  enormous  national  importance  of  the  higher 
institutions  of  learning;  first,  in  crystallizing  patriotic  sentiment,  and 
second,  in  making  that  sentiment  effective  by  exemplary  sacrifice.  The 
service  records  of  our  colleges  and  universities  are  proof  that  they  stand 
as  a great  national  asset  in  times  of  trouble. 

But  the  war  showed  also  that  college  men  were  often  handicapped  by 
the  lack  of  thorough  training  in  fundamentals.  The  Adjutant  General’s 
report  is  specific  in  naming  superficial  school  training  as  the  main  reason 
why  a great  many  men  failed  to  make  their  patriotism  effective. 

Colleges  can  function  properly  only  when  schools  furnish  them  with 
boys  thoroughly  trained  in  body,  mind  and  character;  and  schools  which 
furnish  such  training  can  confidently  expect  public  support,  for  the 
service  they  render  is  a national  one. 

Without  schools  there  can  be  no  trained  men;  without  trained  men 
there  can  be  no  solved  problems;  without  solved  problems  there  can  be 
no  national  stability.  The  schools  are  the  major  premise  in  every  syllo- 
gism that  attempts  to  deduce  the  future  of  America.  The  teacher  is  even 
more  needed  than  the  preacher.  If  the  teacher  forms  aright,  there  will  be 
little  for  the  preacher  to  reform.  The  Hill  School  makes  men  and  trains 
public  servants,  and  thereby  serves  the  nation.  The  Harvard  professor 
was  not  far  wrong  who  once  said  to  a Hill  master:  “You  secondary 
school  teachers  are  doing  the  vital  work  of  education.  You  form  and  fix 
the  boy’s  character  during  the  most  plastic  period  of  his  life;  we  college 
professors  only  scratch  the  surface.’’ 

There  is,  then,  no  better  cause  which  the  Alumni  and  friends  of  The 
Hill  can  support  than  the  one  which  will  aid  the  growth  and  widen  the 
influence  of  their  School,  whose  familiar  and  loved  campus  and  ever- 
widening  spirit  of  service  should  stand  as  a lasting  and  fitting  memorial 
to  the  man  who  made  it  all  possible — John  Meigs. 


[ PAGE  THIRTY-ONE  ] 


The  President’s  House 
Cornell  University 


Ithaca,  New  York 


September  14,  1920. 

I entertain  a very  high  opinion  of  The  Hill  School, 
at  which  two  of  my  sons  were  prepared  for  college. 

The  pupils  get  a thorough  education  and  have  made 
a fine  record  in  the  college  entrance  examinations.  Yet 
the  body  is  cultivated  as  well  as  the  mind, --daily  exercise 
in  the  open  air  and  healthful  athletics  being  established 
features  of  the  School.  The  moral  and  religious  influences 
are  of  the  highest.  And  the  personal  intercourse  between 
the  teachers  and  the  boys,  as  well  as  the  friendships 
among  the  boys  themselves,  make  the  social  life  of  the 
School  very  delightful. 

I have  long  pointed  to  The  Hill  School  as  a model 


preparatory  school 


THE  SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION 
Yale  University 


CHAS.  R.  BROWN,  DEAN 


New  Haven.  Connecticut 


August  31,  1920. 


I have  been  familiar  with  the  work  of  The  Hill 


School  for  the  last  ten  years.  I was  personally  acquainted 
with  Doctor  John  Meigs,  who  was  Head  Master  when  I first  went 
to  the  School  to  preach  to  the  boys.  I have  known  inti- 
mately a number  of  the  masters.  The  splendid  equipment  of 
the  School,  the  fine  quality  of  its  teaching  force,  the  clear 
strong  emphasis  upon  thorough  work,  the  general  makeup  of 
the  student  body  and  the  bea,utiful  Christian  atmosphere  in 
which  the  work  is  carried  forward,  all  combine  to  make  it  an 
exceptional  place  for  the  training  of  boys. 


FACULTY  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES 


HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 
CAMBRIDGE 


10  UNIVERSITY  HALL 


The  Hill  School  is  unlike  any  other 
that  I know,  and  is,  so  far  as  I can  judge, 
one  of  the  best  schools  in  the  United  States 
Its  teaching  is  thorough,  its  organization 
extraordinarily  efficient,  its  purpose  high. 


September  1,  1920. 


The  Hotchkiss  School 

Lakeville,  Connecticut 

REV.  II.  G.  IlVEIILER,  M.  A.,  I. ITT.  D.,  HEADMASTER 


The  Hill  School  has  been  a constant  inspiration 
to  me  in  my  educational  work  from  the  time  of  my  first 
visit  to  Professor  Meigs  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  to 
the  present  time.  In  building  up  our  work  at  Hotchkiss, 
we  have  kept  one  eye  on  the  experience  and  efficiency  of 
The  Hill,  and  we  owe  much  to  the  standards  of  The  Hill,  and 
the  friendship  of  those  who  have  made  it  the  great  school 
that  it  is.  The  relations  between  the  two  schools  have 
always  been  ideal . 


August  31,  1920. 


ft 


